Hyderabad: Six-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday in Calabasas, California. The former Los Angeles Lakers star was one of nine people killed in the accident.
The crash also killed Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
Meanwhile, the tragic death of Bryant makes him the latest in a long line of sports legends to die in an air crash.
A sportsperson is vulnerable to air crashes as due to their packed schedule, the athletes are constantly on the road travelling to and from sports venues.
The list of athletic luminaries who have lost their lives in air crashes goes back decades and the first recorded instance of an athlete dying from a plane crash was Cincinnati Reds pitcher Marvin Goodwin, who died Oct. 21, 1925.
Prior to Bryant, the most recent North American sports figure who died in an air accident was Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay. The 40-year-old former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher died when his plane crashed on the west coast of Florida in November 2017. He was elected to the Hall of Fame last year.
Here's the complete list of sports personalities killed in plane crashes: